Maple Leafs report cards: Matt Murray stands tall in win over Sabres

If you’ve been a Leafs fan for a long time, this was game was a textbook loss.

Hockey Night in Canada, the first night wearing the new Reverse Retro jerseys, and most importantly, the Buffalo Sabres were riding a seven-game losing streak. Factor in the Leafs being unable to beat the Sabres for the last three showings, and you have a giant bowl of a “this is a trap game.” But the Leafs surprised me. They showed, shook off the mildly concerning start, and produced at all three strengths to extend Buffalo’s losing streak to eight.

The Leafs scoring more than two goals in regulation is a plus but the performance of Matt Murray is a shining star at the end of this story.

Speaking of stars …

First star

Matt Murray

All we wanted was for Murray to be average and he’s managed to be more than that. It wasn’t perfect, and the second Buffalo goal wasn’t the prettiest or most deserving, but the Kyle Dubas faith project from the offseason was a calming presence between the pipes. In fact, tonight was the most comfortable I’ve been watching Murray. Even when there were scrambles in front of the crease, he generally looked in control and his positioning was sound.

He’s also continuously found ways to make those “the team doesn’t deserve this” saves which were crucial when Buffalo started to get those looks on the power play.

Murray was perfect at even strength, stopping 18 of 18. The first power-play goal was a random deflection and the second was unfortunate. This is the Murray we wanted.

Second star

John Tavares 

A vintage Tavares goal was one of the highlights of a three-point night for the captain. It’s as Tavares as you can get, re-directing Marner’s shot on the power play.

Points two and three were showier for their own reasons.

Remember Ilya Lyubushkin? The supposed one that got away? He didn’t look as impactful after Tavares outworked him in front of the net getting the puck through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for William Nylander to bury. And that wouldn’t be the only primary assist for Tavares, who had the perfect lob to 88 for the fifth goal of the night.

After tonight, Tavares is on pace to score over 40 goals. To quote James Mirtle, I say he does it.

Third star 

William Nylander

It felt at first that it would’ve been one of the more slower games for Nylander, especially after he was “demoted” to the second line in favour of Marner. However, Nylander continued to keep his feet moving and it led to some good steals, setups and goals. Nylander was the beneficiary of poor coverage and awareness on Buffalo’s end on his first goal as all he had to do was shovel the puck in from behind the goaltender.

The second one took more speed and skill and Luukkonen stood no chance.

Similarly to Tavares, Nylander is also on pace to eclipse 40.

Player reports A+

Auston Matthews

Matthews was doing it all out there. He was making some great passes (especially to Michael Bunting), closing in on the opposition quickly in the neutral zone, firing the puck when he could and was devastatingly effective in the faceoff dot with a 77 percent win rate. The physicality was ramping up more as well. Yes, Matthews said he wanted to hit more this season but he also has a history with the Sabres, particularly Rasmus Dahlin. After tonight, he added another chapter to that book but this time it was addressed to Jeff Skinner.

Mitch Marner 

Twelve straight games with a point and a point in one more game will tie his streak from the 2021-22 season. The second of the two brought the London Knights magic as he dropped the puck off for Mark Giordano short-handed.

Aside from the production, Marner continued to bring his spark, so much so that Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe reunited him with Matthews early on. The penalty kill had a lot of good looks this game and I think Marner’s dynamic chemistry with David Kämpf was a big part of it.

A

David Kämpf 

I really liked what I saw from Kämpf tonight on both ends. The offence started going early with a number of net-front chances at the puck and aggressive lanes to the net creating second chances for his linemates. Then there was his role in the Giordano play. He wins the race for the puck along the boards, pokes it past one Sabre and spins around another to send Marner off for the short-handed chance.

That in combination with some well-time blocks and clears on the penalty kill and you have a stellar night for one David Kämpf.

B+

Denis Malgin

Similar to Matthews, Malgin was really controlling the neutral zone. He continuously picked passes off in the neutral zone and kept the Sabres in their own end, quickly transitioning those steals to shots for the Leafs.

Jordie Benn

To the surprise of no one, Benn was the most physical Leaf on the ice. Sure there are the big hits we enjoy like his finish on Tage Thompson in the corner but Benn also uses his body as a wall to stop the opposition from getting to the net.

B

Calle Järnkrok

Järnkrok with time and space in the slot is dangerous. I still don’t think he uses his shot enough but when he does, it’s effective.

Pierre Engvall

An impactful night for Engvall, even though he had to get away with a “too many men” call to do it. He gets the play going for Järnkrok to move the puck up and eventually sets up the scorer in the slot. It was also one of the few times Engvall got into a bit of a post-whistle scrum, this one with Casey Fitzgerald. Engvall had a lot more of these last season but that same anger or fire has been missing. Seeing that from him, albeit a small spark, hopefully is the return of that.

Morgan Rielly 

Rielly extended his point streak as well with two helpers, both on the power play. Rielly isn’t much of a scoring threat on the point but the quickness on his passes setting up both one-timers led to the goals. I’m still noticing clustered defence from Rielly, especially when it comes to defending odd-man rushes where he’ll move closer to take away the pass then quickly change to attack the shot after realizing the pass is already covering.

Mark Giordano 

It’s not every day when you see a player score a short-handed goal without the net and it’ll make Giordano’s first of the season memorable. Despite the beautiful setup from Marner, Giordano still had to fight for the puck a bit and send it over the goal line.

Timothy Liljegren

The keeps from Liljegren at the blue line are well-timed and kept the pressure going for those bottom-six shifts. He’s also timed his advances off the line to keep the play alive well, one of which got him a scoring chance from the faceoff circle.

Justin Holl

I liked how little I noticed Holl. When I did he was in position for covers and winning races to the defensive zone and moving pucks to his wingers from behind the net.

C+

Alex Kerfoot 

Luukkonen made a really good save on Kerfoot on that short-handed breakaway. One of the most dangerous chances we’ve seen him from in a while.

Michael Bunting 

Bunting had a pair of looks in the first period; the first had forced Luukkonen to make a strong save.

Zach Aston-Reese

A bit weak on the defensive side on the chance for Dylan Cozens.

Rasmus Sandin 

Sandin looked a lot more comfortable on the ice with some good reads on the rushes against. It’s also nice to see him get on the scoresheet earning a secondary assist on the Järnkrok goal.

C

Pontus Holmberg

You can see why Keefe wants Holmberg in the lineup. He’s in the right spots, supports his wingers and is also in the right spot to save a few giveaways, one of which was in the defensive zone in the late minutes of the third period. I thought Holmberg had a fine game.

Game Score 

Final grade: A

Whether you want to blame the referees or not, the penalty box parade is something that can bite you, especially if you’re giving the opposition six cracks at it. That said, I thought the Leafs played really well. The power play was perfect, the penalty kill was good and they did a good job holding onto the lead. Murray was a large part of that and he came up big for the team in the second and third periods. I have to give it up to Keefe on the coaching as well. Reuniting Matthews with Marner and Tavares with Nylander was a good call and it paid off production-wise. Additionally, giving the bottom six more minutes and responsibility is something you want to instil long term when the games get tougher.

What’s next for the Leafs? 

The Leafs end their stretch of home games on Monday against the New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m. on Sportsnet.

(Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)